The Shocking Truth

Today I went to school and then I came home. Aside from the hot dog I ate for lunch or the soba noodles I had for dinner I didn't eat any crazy food. I didn't go exploring the nooks and crannies of Tokyo. I just did homework and played a little bit of video games. Since that doesn't give me alot to tell you about I thought I would an interesting tidbit of information with you.

Stanley Milgram

In my psychology class I was assigned to write a biography of one of the famous social psychologists of the past. I chose Stanley Milgram because he was the only one whose main contribution to science I could identify. Since Milgram discovered and refined some fascinating theories and principles I thought I would share a little bit about his work with my readers.

Stanley Milgram is famous for what has come to be known as the Milgram experiments (pretty original name huh?). Inspired by the trial of Adolf Eicman and curious as to whether average Americans would have reacted in a similar manner to the Nazi Germans if under similar leadership, he devised a test which showed the average person to be capable of heartless cruelty when under the guidance of a seemingly legitimate authority.

The experiment was conducted for the first time at Yale in July of 1961. 40 participants were recruited through advertising to take part in what they believed to be an experiment to explore human learning. The real experiment was quite different but the participants were not told this until after its completion. Each participant was paired with a person they believed to be another test subject but who was in reality an actor. They were then old that each pair would be separated, with one person randomly chosen as a “teacher” and the other a “learner”. The experimenters rigged the drawing of names so that the real participant was always the teacher. The "teacher" was led into a small room with an experimenter and the actor playing the "student" was led in to a seperate adjoining room connected by phone so that he could communicate with but not be seen by the "teacher". The experimenter would explain to the "teacher" that the "student" was being strapped into a wired chair. The "teacher" was to read simple questions to the "student" and if the student failed to answer correctly the "teacher" was told to hit a button that would deliver a shock through the chair. The voltage would be increased with each incorrect answer starting at 45 volts and ending at 45o volts.

The test was conducted to see how far the "teacher" would go before refusing to continue. The actor playing the "student" gave frequent incorrect answers and as the schock (no real shock was being delivered) became stronger the "student" would scream, beg for mercy and demand to be released. If the "teacher" hesitated or asked for instructions from the experimenter he was told to continue. The experiment was only complete after each "teacher" hit the maximum shock or refused to continue.

Before the results of the experiment were revealed Milgram surveyed psychologists to learn what percentage of the participants would continue on to the highest level. Those professionals surved said that less than one percent would go to 450 volts. Can you guess what the actual number was?

It was 67.5%. 27 of the 40 participants continued to deliver shocks despite the screams of the actor up until the maximum voltage was reached. None of the participants refused to continue the experiment before 300 volts. None of those who quit made any effort to help the person they had shocked or even inquire about his release. In Stanley Milgram's eyes, this showed that most Americans would likely go along with genocide if so ordered by the government.

I think this shows very clearly mankind's fallen state and reveals how easily we can be led astray by others. It is a chilling reminder for us to decide before a difficult situation who we will obey and where we are willing to take a stand.

Day Two

Today I took my other two classes. Intermediate Microneconomic Analysis and Manegerial Economics. The courses are actually very similar and are taught by the same teacher.

They should be easy and somewhat interesting. Hopefully, I'll pick up some useful information along the way.

*EDIT*

I've been asked: "So, are you fluent in Japanese yet?", "Are you taking any Japanese language course?".

The answer to both questions is, unfortnately, no. I can still only use a few basic phrases of Japanese and am able to pick out very little from what is said to me in Japanese. I am not currently taking any Japanese courses because I have been told by a long term student here that the classes at this school aren't very good. Besides which, I've already taken three quarters of Japanese and haven't learned very much. I've already fulfilled my foreign language requirements and I'm hesitant to burn credits on a class that may or may not help my Japanese ability.

First Day of Class

Today I got up a little bit to late, showered in a rush, grabbed a bite to eat and ran out the door to catch the bus. It was the first day of school.

It looks like school won't be to bad. I am taking 15 credits this semester. Most of the students are apparently trying to take it easy and are taking 12 but since I want to finish my degree on time I need to try a little harder.

I take three hours of classes each day. MWF classes are one hour and TTh classes are an hour and a half each. I have a three on MWF and two on TTh. The school has scheduled an hour and a half for lunch every day. This is really obnoxious because I have no need of this time and it forces me to stay at school much later than I would otherwise.

Today, I started Intellecual Heritage, Social Psychology and Asian American history.

Intellecual Heritage looks like it will require a great deal of tedious reading but actual class periods should be very interesting. The course is taught by a young French woman. I have not yet ascertained whether I will like her as a teacher.

Social Psychology should be both interesting and easy. The teacher seems to be lenient, a plus, and disorganized, not so much a plus. We didn't really cover much course material so I can't yet tell is she will be a good teacher.

Asian American History, the course which I was looking forward to the least, appears like it will live up to my expectations. The teacher, while a nice enough guy speaks very softly so that it is difficult to hear him and he talks very slowly with frequent pauses. As he said in class, "Asian American history is a very quiet history." This class will probably be boring although relatively easy.

*Rabenstrange Answers:*
Palm Boy asks: "How is a 90 minute lunch break obnoxious? Can't you just eat lunch?"

I could eat lunch in one of the normal 15 minute breaks between classes. But since they have an extremely long lunchbreak inbetween my classes I have to stay on campus for an extra 90 minutes. If I could just finish my last class during that period I would also have the opportunity to go out to eat with friends or come home and cook. The other annoying thing about it is that when everyone has lunch at the same time the cafeteria and inexpensive local eateries are packed and the vending machines and convenience stores have really long lines.

Church ni ikimashata

Hachiko Statue outside Shibuya Station

Since yesterday was Saturday, I woke up today to find that it was Sunday. Because it was Sunday, I went to church. Both of the Sundays I've been here I have attended the Jesus Lifehouse church.

For those of you who have never had the opportunity to attend church in a foreign country, I strongly implore you to make an effort to do so. There is something uniquely powerful about worshipping God with people from come from another culture and speak a different language. I can't describe what precisely it is but it tweaks some thing in your heart in a wonderful way.

After church I was chatting with a Chinese guy from Canada and since we both had to go through Shibuya on the way home we decided to hang out a bit and have dinner there.

I should probably have covered this earlier but Shibuya is like Tokyo's Times Square. A couple of the major train lines originate or run through Shibuya and it is very accessable from pretty much anywhere in the city. It is a terrifically busy area filled with big stores, high-tech arcades and fancy restraunts. Every night hordes of people come to shop, hang out, enjoy the clubs and a myriad of other things to do. Fortunately, for penniless college students such as myself, it also has inexpensive establishments. According to my room mate and some people at church there's some good 100 yen shops and a Don Quixote in Shibuya. These are the best places to get good stuff for really cheap. Shibuya also hosts a plethora of small eateries as well. There are ramen and soba shops, McDonalds and Starbucks and all kinds of other places that serve food that I can afford.

We ate at a small domburi shop. It was in the bottom floor of a building and opened onto one of the side streets. Inside it was a longish narrow room with a counter and stools kind of like the old-style diners in movies. When we walked in the poured us iced tea. After we consulted the menu briefly we decided what we wanted and indicated our choices to the waitress. After a couple minutes wait our food was delivered to us.

Domburi is a very simple meal. It consists of a bowl of rice with some sort of meat, egg, seafood etc. sauce and often some sort of vegetables over rice. I had a variety with chicken and onions. It was tasty and affordable. I'll probably go back.

After dinner we wandered around Shibuya for a little while looking at the brightly lit stores. It started to drizzle so we headed back to the station parted ways and went to our respective homes.

Routine

Things are starting to settle down to a routine. It's only been a week and I haven't yet started classes but I think I have a pretty good idea how things are going to go for the next few weeks.

I'm settling into eating alot of rice, going to school everyday via train and I already feel connected to a church.

Today I went into school for still more orientations. We also got an extensive tour of the campus. An event which, while great in principal, lost something in the execution due to the "campus" consisting of the bottom six floors of a small office building.

In other news, I may be getting a bike and going to school via pedal power. The Nepalee guy in my building has walked to and from school the last couple days and according to him it takes about an hour and a half. With luck I can cut that time in half by using a bike and thus save myself 420 yen a day in bus fares while gaining some exercise and taking no more time.

There are people on bikes everywhere here. Unlike in the states they usually ride on the sidewalk. This leads to scary situations where unseen bikers come flying past you at high speed. They probably know exactly what they're doing but it's still unnerving.

That's it for today. Sayonara.

Registration

Today I registereed for classes. This semester I'm taking Intellectual History, Asian-American Heritage, Managerial Economics, Intermediate Economic Principals and Foundation of Social Psychology. It's not really a course load that I'm not excited about but life isn't just fun and games.
On another interesting note, a few bizarre inconsistancies I've noticed here in Japan. People are terrified of putting salt on their food because its so unhealthy and yet most people smoke. Also, they have crazy water saving devices like the toilets I described earlier yet none of the sinks have water limiters on them and they spray out so much water that gets all over the place whenever you try and wash anything. It's rather weird.

Akihabara

Today I went to Tokyo's electronics/anime sales district, Akihabara. One of the girls from church was heading going over for a Bible study and since I wasn't doing anything she invited me to tag along.

We browesed through the electronics stores and strolled past the many, many phone shops representing the three main wireless companies, Docomo, Au and Vodafone. I think I'm going to break down and actually pic up a phone. It is becoming apparent that a cell phone is practically a necessity here in the tangled web of trains, subways bus lines and gargantuan crowds that form modern Tokyo. Au offers a student plan that runs about 1500 yen a month with free text messaging to all Au users (and since they're the ones with the cheap student plan thats what most students have).

After looking through the shops I found little evidence for the great deals people rave about. I could find almost any electronic device I want for cheaper in the U.S.


On the other hand they have a five story Don Quixote there and a couple hundred yen stores. I bought a measuring cup so that I can get my rice to come out consistently, three packs of instant curry, a can of pineapple (because fresh fruit here is astronomically expensive) and a bottle of peach Calpis which I consumed a few minutes after leaving the store.

While in Akihabara I dove into Japanese cuisine, ordering a hot dog at the combini (a Seven Eleven it just so happened) and a cheeseburger at McDonalds.

After shopping I went to a bible study. The pastor talked about divine healing and told about some of the miracles he had witnessed it was pretty cool.

Althogether, including train costs I spent 1515 yen today.

Yen

Palm Boy asks, "What is the ratio to yen and dollars?"

As I write this, a broker can buy 116.32 yen for a dollar. This translates to 1 yen equaling .86 cents. Click on the above graph to see exchange rates for the past year.

To check up to date currency exchange rates I recommend Yahoo Finance.

A Man's Got To Eat

Venturing out into Jiyugaoka for the first time to buy groceries can be intimidating. Luckily, I had my roomie along and he was actually knows stuff.

Surveying the produce, I decided that 800 yen was too much for a peach and that in general their produce was outrageously overpriced. I ended up buying some carrots, noodles a coule rolls and a little jug of sauce.

Oh, I should mention that the "western style" toilet here in my apartment is pretty unique. It is plumbed into the sink so that to turn on the sink you must flush the toilet and vice versa. The two functions are inextrictably connected. The sink is what fills the toilet tank for the next flush. Pretty strange if you ask me.

テスト を した

I don't know why, but the school scheduled placement exams for the day after we arrived. This is particularly intriguing because the school doesn't have us doing much for the next week and a half. Aside from a day or two of orientations we're free to do as we please. At first, I thought that this schedule was adopted because the school needed time to get assessment results back before students registered, but on after a more careful reading of the schedule I found that we get our test results and register for classes on Tuesday, nearly a week before classes start. Whatever the reasoning behind the planning, I took the test.

Josh and I got up around eight showered, ate a bit of breakfast (I had a couple granola bars out of my suitcase) and headed out to meet the folks from OIS (Office of International Students) who had come to show us the way to school. I expected them to lead us to the train and show us how to use that mode of travel but they didn't. Instead they showed us to the bus station.

The bus was rather interesting. It didn't have that much seating so for most of the half hour ride we stood. All of the seats are prioritized for old people, the disabled, injured etc.. I was surprised that the bus warned of upcoming stops in English. I had been informed by several guides that the bus system used Japanese exclusively and I was happy to be proven wrong. We got off at a stop about five minutes (on foot) away from the school.

The school itself occupies the bottom 6 floors of an office building, the rest of the floors are occupied by other businesses. I looked around a bit on my lunch break but I didn't want to be too nosy so I didn't see much.

The tests were just like those given by universities back in the States, very similar to a shortened SAT with tougher math. I think I did okay but I'll have to wait until Tuesday to receive my results and confirm my expectations.

After school the OIS people guided us back to the dorm via the bus and then showed us around our neighborhood a bit. They pointed out some of the best grocery stores and the currency exchange but I don't have a good enough memory or sense of direction to find my way back to places after a single visit. I'll be doing alot of exploring in the days to come.

I also made my first excursion out on my own today. I walked to the only restraunt that I knew how to find, ordered dinner, and paid for it, all without having a functional knowledge of Japanese. I paid a little more than I would have if I could have found a non-sit-down establishment but the food tasted pretty good. Did I mention that the place I ate was a Denny's? Yeah, I travelled half way around the world to eat at Denny's. Of course, Denny's here is really different but still...

Home Sweet 日本

I have arrived safely in Japan.

The flight over while long and sleep free was not too ardorous. I was sitting next to a Japanese lady who didn't speak English and slept the whole time so I was able to avoid the discomfort of an enormous seat mate. They showed four movies in flight, two of which I watched, She's the Man and 16 Blocks. Both were okay but neither would be worth my time to watch again. For food, I was served some sort of beef with gravy and a mashed potato substitue for the first meal and watery manicotti for the second. Neither were very good, their only saving grace was the fresh fruit that came with them.

After we arrived at Narita, I booked it to immigration. My room mate, Josh, had forewarned me that I should get to the line ASAP or get stuck waiting in line behind all of the hundreds of other people from the plane. I made it ahead of most of the people from my flight and I was certainly glad I did because several other flights ended up coming in at the same time and right after I got into what I thought was a horribly long line, a tsunami of people came in and it backed up out of the immigration room and was lost from sight out the door.

Narita is set up to run very efficently. Everything is clearly labled in 日本語 and English, and it has a smooth flow. You get off the plane and go directly to immigration, the door out of immigration goes directly to baggage claim, all the exits from baggage claim go through customs and when you get out of customs you're in the right place to hire a taxi or get a bus or train ticket. There are also waiting areas for people trying to gather together a group from seperate flights.

I was excited when I opened up my laptop and got four bars on an unsecured wireless network while sitting in one of those waiting areas. Unfortunately, my joy was quickly quashed when I connected and was met with a screen that informed I had to pay ￥５００ to get online. I figured at that rate I could just wait til I got to my dorm.

By the time I had completed my disappointing attempt to get online, I had to hurry to catch my bus. While waiting at the curb I met two fellow TUJ students and then once we got on the bus we met another. The bus was air conditioned, a fact for which I was very thankful considering that it was nearly 90 degrees out with humidity in the high eighties, maybe low nineties and it was a long ride. It took us almost two hours to get to the hotel where we were instructed to meet with school representatives and it was nice getting to know a couple of my fellow students.

Immediately upon arriving at the school we were greeted by several student employees of the Office of International Students. They quickly checked us in and then put us in taxis, gave driving instructions to the dorm to the driver and sent us on our way instructing us to wait outside the building in the morning to be led to school.

Our taxi driver got lost. Apparently the map which he had been provided wasn't that good. He tried to ask us where to go but we had no idea. It was very awkward because he didn't speak English and neither I nor the girl with whom I was riding speak Japanese. Fortunately we were able to inidicate the phone number of the dorm manager and the manager was able to guide the frustrated driver in. It turned out that we were only two blocks from the dorm.

The manager helped us get our bags to our rooms and gave us our room keys. My room mate, Josh was alreay there. As it turns out this was very fortunate for me because the girls (we could tell by the long hairs in the shower) who had previously occupied our room had left things a mess and Josh had to do a fair bit of cleaning.

We stayed up and chatted for a bit, did a little studying for our assesment exams and then went to bed.

All in all, things went very smoothly and I am thankful that none of the myriad of things that could have gone amiss were allowed to happen.

Expect further updates as my schedule allows.

For those of you who have asked when I'm leaving...

Today. I will be leaving for the airport in about an hour(09:30). Then I will sit about in the terminal waiting until my flight leaves at 13:13. If all goes well, I will arrive in Tokyo 10 hrs later at about 15:25. Aren't timezones great?

After I get through immigration, baggage claim and customs, I will buy a ticket for the 16:30 bus to the Miyako hotel. Somewhere during baggage claim/customs I will hopefully be meeting up with a classmate I met online. We will get on the bus which after a two hour drive will drop us at the hotel where we will be met my a school representative who will put us in taxi's and send us off to our dorms.

In theory I should be in the dorm by 04:00-05:00 PDT, 20:00-21:00 JST.

If you want to track my flight I will be on US Airways Flight 6839 our of SEATAC, operated by United Airlines - UA875.

I Started Packing Today

It all feels so unreal. I can't believe I'm really leaving.

An Audio Post With My Mouth Totally Numb

Well That's Just Peachy!

MI6 the British equivalent to the CIA has revealed that it has uncovered a plot to bomb airliners flying from Britain to the United States. If completed the attack could have killed hundreds of people. Kudos to the intelligence service for their excellent work and the saving of innoncent lives.

On the other hand, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has raised our threat level on passenger aircaft to RED. The highest possible level. Why couldn't these disgusting terrorists waited to plan their attack until after I had arrived safely in Japan.

I will be flying internationally in less than a week and now all the airport security and customs people are going to be super jumpy and paranoid. Now I will be subjected to another layer of intrusive security inspection. This will be an enormous pain in the neck that I do not need on my first transoceanic flight.

I hope these human swine are hung with a dog hair rope and burried in a pig skin sack in the bottom of a latrine.

Thanks to Palm Boy for the heads up.

A Day at the Dentist

The Reading Rabenstrange

Just for the record the Bible fits categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8.

1. One book that changed your life
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by R. A. Heinlein. It is one of the books that really drew me into Science Fiction. His lectures on govenment masterfully disguised as dialogue also had a strong influence on my political ideals.


2. One book that you’ve read more than once
Hardy Boys #2 The House on the Cliff. I read this book at least 10 times between my ninth and eleventh birthdays.


3. One book you’d want on a deserted island
My new NASB Bible. If I were stranded on an island I would take it as a sign that I needed to get in touch with the one who put me there.



4. One book that made you laugh
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. Comedies have a way of being funny.

5. One book that made you cry
I can't recall a book that made me cry. I'm not really a crier.

6. One book that you wish had been written
Life: A Users Manual with Detailed Instructions and Complete Contingency Plans

7. One book that you wish had never been written
The Communist Mannifesto. Communism has killed almost 100 million people. I wish that this horrific philosophy had never been conceived.

8. One book that you are currently readingMyths, Lies and Downright Stupidity.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read
The Art of War/On War unibook by Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz.

A Great Quote

"Society lives and acts only in individuals; it is nothing more than a certain attitude on their part. Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result. Whether he chooses or not, every man is drawn into the great historical struggle, the decisive battle into which our epoch has plunged us." -Ludwig von Mises

Mises was one of the greatest economists of all time. His magnum opus, Human Action is a brilliant and thorough exploration of economic principles.

This Must Have Been Embarrassing.

Man Robbed by 14 Year-old Girls Met on Myspace.com

三 [さん]

*3 Things That Scare Me

Mediocrity. I don't want to be normal when I can be extraordinary.

Burns. I am terrified of being burned.

Forgetfulness. I am always afraid that I am forgetting something important.

*3 People That Make Me Laugh
TBQelite,
Kate Robinson,
Steve Martin

*3 Things I Love

Books,
Computers,
Swimming Pools


*3 Things I Hate

The DNC and their liberal agenda,
Macs,
Shopping

*3 Things I Don’t Understand

Girls.

God.

Why I like blogging so much.

*3 Things On My Floor

Suitcase,
Boxes in the process of being filled with all my earthly possesions,
A line of daisy chained power strips into which I have plugged all my computer hardware.


*3 Things I’m Doing Right Now

Typing,

Worrying,

Eating a popsickle.


*3 Things I Want to Do Someday

Become fluent in Japanese

Get married and have a big family,

Become a space tourist.

*3 Things I Can Do

Bench my bodyweight.

Basic calculus.

Fund my trip to Japan without my parents or the government paying for it.

*3 Ways to Describe My Personality

Friendly, but probably too outspoken.

Miserly. I'm a saver not a spender.

Fun-loving. Maybe this is why I like kids so much.

*3 Things I Cannot Do

Sing. At all.

Whistle.

Run two miles. I've run one in six minutes but I have zero endurance.

*3 Things I Think You Should Listen To

A recording of Ronald Reagan's 1964, "A Time for Choosing" speech.

Flyleaf. They rock!

Your parents

*3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To

Rap (spelled here without the initial silent c)

Foul jokes.

Bill Clinton, he's a smooth talker but a wicked man.

*3 Absolute Favorite Foods

Well marinated kabobs.

Homemade mac and cheese

*3 Things I’d Like to Learn

How to speak elequently.

How to be a good parent.

How to be more Godly.

*3 Beverages I Drink Regularly

Water.

That's about it. Pop rots my teeth and despite my best efforts I can not stand the taste of milk.

*3 Shows I Watch (Those I watch are on DVD)

Lost

Firefly

The Andy Griffith Show

Classy Video Games?

I found this article, via Slashdot, to be raise some intersting points.

It discusses the need for a new genre of classy, culturally elite video games to improve the reputation of the gaming industry and discredit detractors who decry computer gaming as a worthless waste of time filled with endless violence and guady special effects.

A Busy Day

Audioblogger

Click on the link to listen to my audio post.
My message got cut off. To listen to the remainder of my post just click on the audio post immediately below this one.

A Close Call

Now that I'm back, here's the story behind how I almost died.

We were driving up to Mount Si to go hiking. We were on a three lane highway going 60 mph (according to one of the guys in the car, I don't know for sure what the speed was). Since we were going uphill there were two lanes in our direction and one in the opposite. We were in the left lane with a semi traveling next to us.

As we came around a right turn the semi veered into our lane. In order to avoid a collision with the semi TBQelite swerved into the oncoming lane and punched it up around the truck before the first car in the oncoming lane reached us. Once we got past we realized that there was a broken down car blocking the right lane. The semi had had to come into our lane to avoid hitting that. Since it was around a bend no one could see it until they were right on top of it.

It all happened so fast.* Afterwards we all realized how close to death we had come. If there had been an oncoming car at the moment we came around the semi, it would have been blocked from view and we would have hit at a combined speed of 120 mph. I was sitting in the passenger seat but at that speed it I wouldn't have been much safer in the back. Buick sedans aren't meant for that kind of crash.

If my guardian angel had taken the day off I'd be in a morgue somewhere.

Wednesday

Today we hit a thrift store on the way through town. I was hoping to find a shovel for making sand castles but unfortunately the closest thing they had was a ash scoop from set of fireplace stuff. Since I had no need of a poker, broom or stand and no place to store them if I did. I didn't even ask about the price.

We then went to Fort Clatsop to see the replica of the Lewis and Clarke party's winter quarters. Last year the fort burned to the ground but a replacement is almost complete. Buckskin clad rangers guide visitors through the fort and give demonstration of 19^th century activities. Dad and I were very amused by the flintlock demonstration because we knew considerably more about muzzle loaders than the ranger and there were numerous inaccuracies in his speech.

While we were stopped in Seaside to see the Lewis and Clarke salt camp, the Tsunami siren went off. It didn't appear to be serious but we vacated the vicinity nonetheless. Apparently there was no giant wave because Seaside still stands.

When we got back I mostly stayed in the vehicle to hid from the mosquitoes. I got out to share in the steak and potatoes. After dinner, I did dishes again but this time the mosquitoes weren't so bad.

Finally we all took showers and went to bed.

Tuesday

We had bagels for breakfast today. We then went to the Astoria Tower. The tower, perched on top of a hill above the city, is a long concrete cylinder stood on end with an observation deck on top and a spiral staircase inside. It has a fantastic view of the coast and the city of Astoria. A lot of people were throwing paper airplanes off the tower and due to the structure's height the flew truly impressive distances. Unfortunately we didn't know about the tradition and neglected to bring paper for airplanes. It seemed like too much work to go up and down the tower just to throw some paper off.

For lunch we split up to to find our own food among the varied stores, bakeries and eateries of Astoria. I was paired with my younger brother and we went to Safeway and bought fresh bagels, a third pound of roast beef and a 2-liter bottle of Squirt. At less than five dollars for the two of us we won the Penny Pincher Award for our choice.

Most of the family spent the afternoon browsing the small shops of Astoria. Since I'm not a shopper, I went for a long walk and then read in the car. Finally we went to the beach for a little while. I found an enormous sand castle and than claimed I built it. Since I was only out of sight for a few minutes I don't think Dad really believed me but it was still funny.

I did dishes tonight and while my hands were wet and busy Mosquitoes attacked with a vengeance. They've been bad all along but tonight they're disgusting! The bug repellent is working great for the rest of the family but it doesn't seem to be doing a thing for me. It'll be a long itchy night.